Martin FrimetBrilliant Bimbo’s keeps it simple (LINK)
March 26th 2008 23:29
There can be few restaurants anywhere in the world that earn a glowing recommendation for pizzas that cost just $4. To be tipped off twice then about the same place felt like something more than coincidence; by the time I’d been told about Bimbo’s on Brunswick Street for the third time, I resolved that I had to find out for myself how the place had accorded itself such a blistering reputation.
Getting there, I worked out quickly enough that Bimbo’s certainly hadn’t gained its fame through its exterior, which came in a rather shocking, blotched grey and white that brought to mind paper and plaster rather than sweet pepper and soft onion. Furthermore, it’s dark, heavy interior, full of old, mismatched couches and with the whiff of teenage angst, felt like some kind of op shop gone wrong and did little to inspire any more confidence.
Waiting for my order, I was nevertheless heartened by looking round at a massively mixed clientele, all taking advantage of a daily special that offers a selection of ten or more genuinely interesting pizza options at a stripped-down price until well into the afternoon. Thus single businessmen rushed through their lunches on one table as a new mother’s club took a more leisurely pace on the table next door. In other places, hyperactive tourists sat back-to-back with too-cool students, retirees just as likely to be tucking in as some of the local rich kids. What linked this whole strange mess of people, however, were the plain white plates in front of them and the ever-decreasing circles of pizza on each.
With service that was fast and direct, if bordering on brusque, I quickly got to see my pizza for myself. And it didn’t take long to realise the reason for my rash of recommendations. With fresh, thin homemade bases that come generously topped and bursting to be eaten, Bimbo’s lets its pizzas do all the talking. Amongst the offerings, pizzas loaded with delicately shaved Zucchini, sundried tomatoes and parmesan or topped with soft smoked salmon and mascarpone shout loudly, wildly and happily all on their own. Bimbo’s, they say, knows how good a good pizza can be and wants you to know out about it too.
Indeed, once your mouth is tingling with some of Bimbo’s expertly matched flavours for the first time, the whole place can seem to take on a different hue. Decor that at first glance looked dishevelled can easily be seen as laidback and relaxed, staff who might have seemed over-assertive and aggressive can be read as enthusiastic and eager, and the loud music might just as easily be put down as lively.
The truth is, what matters most here is good pizza at great prices and Bimbo’s gets that one right every time.
Bimbo's
376 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
Getting there, I worked out quickly enough that Bimbo’s certainly hadn’t gained its fame through its exterior, which came in a rather shocking, blotched grey and white that brought to mind paper and plaster rather than sweet pepper and soft onion. Furthermore, it’s dark, heavy interior, full of old, mismatched couches and with the whiff of teenage angst, felt like some kind of op shop gone wrong and did little to inspire any more confidence.
Waiting for my order, I was nevertheless heartened by looking round at a massively mixed clientele, all taking advantage of a daily special that offers a selection of ten or more genuinely interesting pizza options at a stripped-down price until well into the afternoon. Thus single businessmen rushed through their lunches on one table as a new mother’s club took a more leisurely pace on the table next door. In other places, hyperactive tourists sat back-to-back with too-cool students, retirees just as likely to be tucking in as some of the local rich kids. What linked this whole strange mess of people, however, were the plain white plates in front of them and the ever-decreasing circles of pizza on each.
With service that was fast and direct, if bordering on brusque, I quickly got to see my pizza for myself. And it didn’t take long to realise the reason for my rash of recommendations. With fresh, thin homemade bases that come generously topped and bursting to be eaten, Bimbo’s lets its pizzas do all the talking. Amongst the offerings, pizzas loaded with delicately shaved Zucchini, sundried tomatoes and parmesan or topped with soft smoked salmon and mascarpone shout loudly, wildly and happily all on their own. Bimbo’s, they say, knows how good a good pizza can be and wants you to know out about it too.
Indeed, once your mouth is tingling with some of Bimbo’s expertly matched flavours for the first time, the whole place can seem to take on a different hue. Decor that at first glance looked dishevelled can easily be seen as laidback and relaxed, staff who might have seemed over-assertive and aggressive can be read as enthusiastic and eager, and the loud music might just as easily be put down as lively.
The truth is, what matters most here is good pizza at great prices and Bimbo’s gets that one right every time.
Bimbo's
376 Brunswick Street
Fitzroy
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